Looking to sharpen your knowledge of martial arts and contribute to a worthy cause? As many readers already know, Neill Jameson — frontman of Krieg and longtime Decibel contributor — recently lost his wife, Nikki, after her long battle with cancer. Neill now faces the tremendous task of rebuilding his life and being a single father to his daughter, Vale. And although the last couple years have overwhelming time in Neill’s life, a community of sorts has formed with people eagerly following his story and donating to his family’s GoFundMe page. As part of that community, a few great guys have decided to hold an event to help Neill and provide a great learning experience around Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
On Sunday, October 4, black belts Danny Katz, David Grossman and Dean Lewis will hold a seminar at 11AM with proceeds going to Neill and his daughter. They will hold the event at Miloki Flow Jiu Jitsu, located at 950 Montgomery Ave in Narberth, Pennsylvania (just outside of Philadelphia). Heath Rave (Lotus Thrones and ex-Wolvhammer) designed the cool poster for event, which excellently combines the theme with the extreme metal aesthetic.
Danny Katz, who owns of Heelhookvlt and does vocals for Fragile Body and Unhealed, had this to say about the event:
“Neil Jameson has been an important figure in underground music for decades; fronting bands like Krieg and helping to expose lesser known bands through his prolific writing career. Recently Neill suffered the tragic loss of his partner Nikki to cancer, and has to raise their autistic daughter Vale by himself. On October 4, we will be sponsoring a seminar with all proceeds going to help Neill through this immensely difficult time and care for his daughter. Please come support. Where music and grappling overlap at their best is when community is created. Through this seminar we hope to give that to Neill and Vale.”
Dave Grossman, who readers may know from Rosetta or New Miserable Experience, added that:
“The thing that draws so many of us into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and underground music scenes is the community. At their best, both of these scenes support their own like very few communities that have ever existed. Danny, Dean, Heath and myself knew that we needed to support Neill in this challenging time. While Neill is not a part of our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community we knew that community would rise to the occasion to support him, additionally there is a strong community within Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that love underground music and more specifically Neill’s work. Art has a way of impacting and changing people’s lives, this is our chance at supporting an artist that has given so much to so many.”
Honestly, even if the event wasn’t a charity benefit, it sounds like a fantastic opportunity to learn from a few masters of their craft, including Dean Lewis, who trained under Lucas Lepri and is a No-Gi world champion. And it’s an added bonus that these gentlemen are all part of the underground metal scene or are passionate devotees. So if you’re in the greater Philly area and don’t have plans on October 4, you should definitely check this out.
Here’s that information one more time:
Sunday, October 4 at 11AM
$20 Donation
Miloki Flow Jiu Jitsu
950 Montgomery Ave.
Narberth, PA 19072
